In the canal 😭

Posted on March 29, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged burnt, Canal, dirty, Life, Litter, plastic bottles, Rubbish, scooter, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Trent and mersey canalLeave a comment

I was depressed by the amount of rubbish floating in the canal today. It was in an area close to Stoke Town centre.

I saw many old plastic bottles, they were dirty, as if they had been stored somewhere outside and then dumped together into the canal later. There were bits of broken wood and even an old set of mudguards from a bike floating on the surface. It makes me angry, because this section of canal is part of our city. How disgusting that stuff can just be dumped. Then further on towards Dolphin Boats but on the other side was a burnt out motor scooter. No one seems to care. I tagged in the Canal and Rivers Trust. I hope they can arrange a clean up.

Sleep

Posted on March 28, 2021 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #100daydrawingchallenge, Art, Asleep, Black and white, Black and white cat, Cat, Curled up, Drawing, Sketching, Tired, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

An old drawing done in 2019. When life was comfortable, the cats were snug. I hadn’t started doing my illustration course and I was drawing for pleasure.

I’d done another challenge, a hundred days drawing challenge, I think this was done on the third day because I’ve highlighted the date in red. I don’t know which of the cats this was. It isn’t our outside cat, because he was still living outside then (now all I have to do is whistle by the back door and he comes).

Anyway this just popped up in my memories, so I thought I would share it. A happy black and white cat, asleep, with no worries.

Kilometers

Posted on March 28, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #100daywalkingchallenge, Devon, Distance, Exeter, fifty six days, kilometers, Miles, Tired, Walking, weekly average2 Comments

How far I walked today. Its not a massive amount but it was up and down and up again. Lots of hills. I’ve been doing this walking challenge for 56 days now and my total mileage is around 181.5 since 1st February. That’s an average of 22.6 miles a week. My hubby has walked with me a few times and the rest mostly with my friend. She always walks further than me.

It’s interesting to me to work it out, but I might be boring you!

I did work out that if I walked another 12 miles I would have got Exeter in Devon!

As I walk

Posted on March 28, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #100daywalkingchallenge, grandma, Life, March winds, Memories, Photo, Spring, today's tree, Tree, Walking, WeatherLeave a comment

As I walk I’m looking at trees, I’m waiting for the buds to burst, the leaves to stretch and expand. But we need some rain now to get the buds to swell. Then I will have more idea of what these trees are.

Oak before Ash,

In for a Splash.

Ash before Oak,

In for a soak….

The old rhyme of what to expect from the weather this Spring…

Also the weather has been very windy after a quiet start to March.

The saying for that is :

In like a Lamb

Out like a Lion.

(it can be vice versa), old weather saws that my grandma told me…

Virtual tour

Posted on March 28, 2021 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Bovisand Bay, Collage, Devon, Fun, Memories, Prompt, Sketch, virtual travel, wish I was there, WishingLeave a comment

Well I decided to do a collage for #bandofsketchers prompt virtual travel. This is using bits of monoprint, bits from magazines, green post it notes and black ink pens. The view is where I want to be, Bovisand Bay, near Plymouth, South Devon.

I wanted you to feel the warm sunlight and the tide as it sweeps in and out of the bay. If I could be anywhere now it would be there!

Cat map?

Posted on March 28, 2021 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Cat, Celtic art, Drawing, Fun, Illustration, Life, Map, mapping, Maze, saxon hoard, saxon pattern, StaffordshireLeave a comment

I drew this years ago. A celtic style cat. I did a full colour acrylic painting afterwards but I don’t have a photo of that and I think my sister has it now.

I was trying to think of a subject for an illustrated map we have to do for college. I’ve been visiting a local lake recently and there is a hedge maze there. You cannot see the shape of it from the ground and it would be interesting in mapping it out, but I don’t own a drone camera! Then I thought the map might be based around ideas of the Staffordshire Hoard found in this area a few years ago. This was coins and gold sword ornaments and other pieces of treasure. I might base my map on these Saxon patterns. Then I did my original thesis on pre Christian celtic art, and that’s where the idea of a celtic cat came from.

Decisions…. What to draw…. Hmm

Abstract nasturtiums

Posted on March 27, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Abstract, Colour, Green, Nasturtium, Photo, Photodirector app, pixels, PlayingLeave a comment

Just playing with a photo of nasturtium leaves. I mirrored the image, then put it through photodirector, making it halftone, then using a circular dispersion tool to break the pattern up even more. It ooks like pixels on a TV screen. Granular and interesting.

This is what I started out with.

Moon

Posted on March 27, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blue, Clouds, Daylight, magnified, Moon, Sky, Sunlight, View, Walking, White, zoom inLeave a comment

One moon, high above the clouds. Seen on a walk, popping up like a bubble from the lips of a cloud.

It’s hard to capture the moon on my phone. The definition of the photo is not good, and having to zoom in makes it more blurred. I think I avoided too much camera shake.

It’s not often you see the moon in the sky in daylight. But I like this photo. Simple view and with the clouds it makes it more interesting.

Seen on a walk

Posted on March 27, 2021March 27, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Beauty, Colour, Community, Flowers, Fun, Joy, Looking, Mural, Poem, Poetry, Seeing, WalkingLeave a comment

Mural of flowers

Bright and beautiful

Who was the artist

Who loved colour

Expressed joy

Have to their community

Shared happiness.

I’m glad to see it

As I walk past.

I have short legs

Posted on March 27, 2021March 29, 2021 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #100daywalkingchallenge, Challenge, Exercise, Feet, Fitter, Friends, Helping, Legs, Miles, Steps, Tired, WalkingLeave a comment

I just checked my step counter and it came up with this for March. But I do have short legs so it’s not as impressive as you might think. Plus this is steps not miles! Anyway I’ve surprised myself. I think I’ve done 55 days since starting the 100 day walking challenge with my friends. I think I’m slowly getting fitter. My average walk is around three miles. I’m tired and aching, but I will keep going barring injury or illness. Still over 250,000 steps is not bad going for someone who was basically sedentary before that. Yes I was doing a few walks a week , but I think doing this has helped enormously. X

Mallaband-Brown

Author: artbychristinemallabandbrown